Perpendicular magnetic recording media with oxide-containing exchange coupling layer

ABSTRACT

A method according to one embodiment includes forming a high Ku first oxide magnetic layer above a substrate by sputtering; forming a low Ku second oxide magnetic layer above the first oxide magnetic layer by sputtering; forming an exchange coupling layer of CoCrPt-oxide above the second oxide magnetic layer; and forming a magnetic cap layer above the exchange coupling layer. Additional systems and methods are also presented.

RELATED APPLICATIONS

This application is a divisional of U.S. patent application Ser. No.12/638,905 filed Dec. 15, 2009, which is herein incorporated byreference.

FIELD OF THE INVENTION

The present invention relates to magnetic media, and more particularly,this invention relates to a magnetic medium having an oxide-containingexchange coupling layer.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

Developments have been made in the area of perpendicular magneticrecording media, with much of them focusing on increasing the recordingdensity of the magnetic recording media by decreasing the bit errorrate. A lower bit error rate can be achieved by decreasing thetransition noise between adjacent bits, and the transition noise in turncan be decreased by increasing the magnetic decoupling between grains.Grains that are decoupled and magnetically isolated from one another canswitch independently and may allow the media to form finer and narrowertransitions.

High Ku magnetic materials are needed to keep small grains magneticrecording layer stable, but it is not easy to write to a high Kurecording layer, especially when the read/write head is small, as inhigh areal density magnetic recording. Media noise also increases whenthe Ku of the recording layer increases, and keeping magnetic core width(MCW) and magnetic write width (MWW) narrow is one of requirements forhigh track density.

In addition, signal-to-noise ratio (SNR), overwrite (OW), and MCW are atrilemma when designing high areal density perpendicular recordingmedia. There is a trade-off among the three parameters. However, highperformance perpendicular magnetic recording media requires continuousimprovement on all the three key parameters. Several researchers havereported that exchange coupled composite media comprising hard and softlayers improve both SNR and OW. (Jian-Ping Wang et al., IEEE Trans.Mag., 2005, Y. Inaba et al., IEEE Trans. Mag., 2005). Proposed materialsfor the exchange coupling layer have been CoRu or CoCrPtB (Gunn Choe etal., IEEE Trans. Mag., 2009). What is needed are new materials for theexchange coupling layer which improves OW, MCW, and SNR.

Therefore, it would be beneficial to the improvement of perpendicularrecording media to magnetically decouple the magnetic grains of themagnetic layer of a magnetic recording medium.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

A magnetic storage medium according to one embodiment includes asubstrate; a first oxide magnetic layer formed above the substrate; asecond oxide magnetic layer formed above the first oxide magnetic layer;an exchange coupling layer formed above the second oxide magnetic layer,the exchange coupling layer comprising an oxide; and a magnetic caplayer formed above the exchange coupling layer.

A method according to one embodiment includes forming a high Ku firstoxide magnetic layer above a substrate by sputtering; forming a high Kusecond oxide magnetic layer above the first oxide magnetic layer bysputtering, wherein oxygen is flowed during forming the second oxidemagnetic layer; forming a first layer of an exchange coupling layerabove the second oxide magnetic layer, the first layer of the exchangecoupling layer comprising an oxide, wherein no oxygen is flowed duringforming the first layer of the exchange coupling layer; forming a secondlayer of the exchange coupling layer above the first layer of theexchange coupling layer, the second layer of the exchange coupling layercomprising an oxide, wherein oxygen is flowed during forming the secondlayer of the exchange coupling layer; and forming a magnetic cap layerabove the exchange coupling layer.

A method according to yet another embodiment includes forming a high Kufirst oxide magnetic layer above a substrate by sputtering; forming alow Ku second oxide magnetic layer above the first oxide magnetic layerby sputtering; forming an exchange coupling layer of CoCrPt-oxide abovethe second oxide magnetic layer; and forming a magnetic cap layer abovethe exchange coupling layer.

Any of these embodiments may be implemented in a magnetic data storagesystem such as a disk drive system, which may include a magnetic head, aslider for supporting the head, a drive mechanism for passing a magneticmedium (e.g., hard disk) over the magnetic head, and a control unitelectrically coupled to the magnetic head for controlling operation ofthe head.

Other aspects and advantages of the present invention will becomeapparent from the following detailed description, which, when taken inconjunction with the drawings, illustrate by way of example theprinciples of the invention.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

For a fuller understanding of the nature and advantages of the presentinvention, as well as the preferred mode of use, reference should bemade to the following detailed description read in conjunction with theaccompanying drawings.

FIG. 1 is a simplified drawing of a magnetic recording disk drivesystem.

FIG. 2 is a schematic representation of layers of a magnetic storagemedium, according to one embodiment.

FIG. 3 is a schematic representation of layers of a magnetic storagemedium, according to another embodiment.

FIG. 4 is a schematic representation of layers of a magnetic storagemedium, according to another embodiment.

FIG. 5 is a chart depicting MCW as a function of cap thickness fordifferent materials.

FIG. 6 is a chart depicting Hc and Hs as a function of cap thickness fordifferent materials.

FIG. 7 is a table illustrating the effects of presence of an oxideexchange coupling layer and cap layer thickness on OW and SNR.

FIG. 8 is a table illustrating the effects of oxide exchange couplinglayer thickness on OW, SNR and MCW.

FIG. 9 is a schematic representation of layers of a magnetic storagemedium, according to another embodiment.

FIG. 10 is a chart depicting Hc as a function of exchange coupling layerthickness with CoCrPt, CoRu and CoCrPt-oxide materials.

FIG. 11 is a chart depicting Hs as a function of exchange coupling layerthickness with CoCrPt, CoRu and CoCrPt-oxide materials.

FIG. 12 is a chart depicting 2T SNR as a function of exchange couplinglayer thickness with CoCrPt, CoRu and CoCrPt-oxide materials.

FIG. 13 is a chart depicting MCW as a function of exchange couplinglayer thickness with CoCrPt, CoRu and CoCrPt-oxide materials.

FIG. 14 is a chart depicting OW as a function of exchange coupling layerthickness with CoCrPt, CoRu and CoCrPt-oxide materials.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

The following description is made for the purpose of illustrating thegeneral principles of the present invention and is not meant to limitthe inventive concepts claimed herein. Further, particular featuresdescribed herein can be used in combination with other describedfeatures in each of the various possible combinations and permutations.

Unless otherwise specifically defined herein, all terms are to be giventheir broadest possible interpretation including meanings implied fromthe specification as well as meanings understood by those skilled in theart and/or as defined in dictionaries, treatises, etc.

It must also be noted that, as used in the specification and theappended claims, the singular forms “a,” “an” and “the” include pluralreferents unless otherwise specified.

The following description discloses several preferred embodiments ofdisk-based storage systems and/or related systems and methods, as wellas operation and/or component parts thereof.

In one general embodiment, a magnetic storage medium comprises asubstrate; a first oxide magnetic layer formed above the substrate; asecond oxide magnetic layer formed above the first oxide magnetic layer;an exchange coupling layer formed above the second oxide magnetic layer,the exchange coupling layer comprising an oxide; and a magnetic caplayer formed above the exchange coupling layer.

A method according to one general embodiment includes forming a high Kufirst oxide magnetic layer above a substrate by sputtering; forming ahigh Ku second oxide magnetic layer above the first oxide magnetic layerby sputtering, wherein oxygen is flowed during forming the second oxidemagnetic layer; forming a first layer of an exchange coupling layerabove the second oxide magnetic layer, the first layer of the exchangecoupling layer comprising an oxide, wherein no oxygen is flowed duringforming the first layer of the exchange coupling layer; forming a secondlayer of the exchange coupling layer above the first layer of theexchange coupling layer, the second layer of the exchange coupling layercomprising an oxide, wherein oxygen is flowed during forming the secondlayer of the exchange coupling layer; and forming a magnetic cap layerabove the exchange coupling layer.

A method according to one general embodiment includes forming a high Kufirst oxide magnetic layer above a substrate by sputtering; forming alow Ku second oxide magnetic layer above the first oxide magnetic layerby sputtering; forming an exchange coupling layer of CoCrPt-oxide abovethe second oxide magnetic layer; and forming a magnetic cap layer abovethe exchange coupling layer.

Referring now to FIG. 1, there is shown a disk drive 100 in accordancewith one embodiment of the present invention. As shown in FIG. 1, atleast one rotatable magnetic disk 112 is supported on a spindle 114 androtated by a disk drive motor 118. The magnetic recording on each diskis typically in the form of an annular pattern of concentric data tracks(not shown) on the disk 112.

At least one slider 113 is positioned near the disk 112, each slider 113supporting one or more magnetic read/write heads 121. As the diskrotates, slider 113 is moved radially in and out over disk surface 122so that heads 121 may access different tracks of the disk where desireddata are recorded and/or to be written. Each slider 113 is attached toan actuator aim 119 by means of a suspension 115. The suspension 115provides a slight spring force which biases slider 113 against the disksurface 122. Each actuator arm 119 is attached to an actuator 127. Theactuator 127 as shown in FIG. 1 may be a voice coil motor (VCM). The VCMcomprises a coil movable within a fixed magnetic field, the directionand speed of the coil movements being controlled by the motor currentsignals supplied by controller 129.

During operation of the disk storage system, the rotation of disk 112generates an air bearing between slider 113 and disk surface 122 whichexerts an upward force or lift on the slider. The air bearing thuscounter-balances the slight spring force of suspension 115 and supportsslider 113 off and slightly above the disk surface by a small,substantially constant spacing during normal operation. Note that insome embodiments, the slider 113 may slide along the disk surface 122.

The various components of the disk storage system are controlled inoperation by control signals generated by control unit 129, such asaccess control signals and internal clock signals. Typically, controlunit 129 comprises logic control circuits, storage (e.g., memory), and amicroprocessor. The control unit 129 generates control signals tocontrol various system operations such as drive motor control signals online 123 and head position and seek control signals on line 128. Thecontrol signals on line 128 provide the desired current profiles tooptimally move and position slider 113 to the desired data track on disk112. Read and write signals are communicated to and from read/writeheads 121 by way of recording channel 125.

The above description of a typical magnetic disk storage system, and theaccompanying illustration of FIG. 1 is for representation purposes only.It should be apparent that disk storage systems may contain a largenumber of disks and actuators, and each actuator may support a number ofsliders.

An interface may also be provided for communication between the diskdrive and a host (integral or external) to send and receive the data andfor controlling the operation of the disk drive and communicating thestatus of the disk drive to the host, all as will be understood by thoseof skill in the art.

In a typical head, an inductive write head includes a coil layerembedded in one or more insulation layers (insulation stack), theinsulation stack being located between first and second pole piecelayers. A gap is formed between the first and second pole piece layersby a gap layer at an air bearing surface (ABS) of the write head. Thepole piece layers may be connected at a back gap. Currents are conductedthrough the coil layer, which produce magnetic fields in the polepieces. The magnetic fields fringe across the gap at the ABS for thepurpose of writing bits of magnetic field information in tracks onmoving media, such as in circular tracks on a rotating magnetic disk.

The second pole piece layer has a pole tip portion which typicallyextends from the ABS to a flare point and a yoke portion which extendsfrom the flare point to the back gap. The flare point is where thesecond pole piece begins to widen (flare) to form the yoke. Theplacement of the flare point directly affects the magnitude of themagnetic field produced to write information on the recording medium.

It has been surprisingly found that by using an oxide-containingexchange coupling layer in a magnetic storage medium such as a harddisk, the performance of the magnetic storage medium can be increased.Moreover, it has surprisingly been found that embodiments ofperpendicular media having the particular stack of magnetic oxide layersdisclosed herein have high Ku, good OW, low noise, and low MCW over awide range of cap layer Hc values.

Now referring to FIG. 2, in one embodiment, a magnetic storage medium200 (e.g., a magnetic disk in a hard disk drive (HDD), etc.) isdescribed. FIG. 2 is a highly simplified schematic diagram of across-sectional view of a magnetic storage medium 200, which extends ineither direction horizontally from the view shown. Each layer shown inFIG. 2 may be formed through sputtering, or any other technique known inthe art. Each layer may have a different composition from thosedescribed below in one illustrative embodiment. Moreover, additionallayers may be added and/or shown layers removed in some embodiments.Thus, the disclosed embodiment is provided by way of example only and inno way should be construed as limiting.

The magnetic storage medium 200 includes a substrate 202. The substrate202 may be formed of a glass material, and may have a greater thicknessthan the other layers formed thereon. The adhesion layer 208 may becomprised of aluminum, titanium, or compositions thereof, etc., and mayfunction to prevent the layers formed above the substrate 202 from“peeling off” during use. The soft underlayers 210, 214 are separated byan anti-ferromagnetic coupling (AFC) layer 212, typically of Ru or otherAFC material. The soft underlayers 210, 214 may be comprised of cobalt,iron, tantalum, zirconium, or compositions thereof, etc., whichpreferably provide a high moment. The seed layers 216, 218 may becomprised of any suitable material as would be known in the art, such asnickel, tungsten, chromium, titanium, combinations thereof, etc. Theunderlayers 220, 222, 224 may be comprised of any suitable material aswould be known in the art, such as ruthenium, and may be formed underdifferent pressures, such as a lower pressure for underlayer I, 220, andhigher pressures for underlayers II, III, 222, 224, respectively. Anonset layer 226 may also be present. An illustrative onset layer 226comprises ruthenium, titanium, and/or oxides thereof, etc. First andsecond oxide magnetic layers 228, 230 are formed above, and preferablydirectly on, the onset layer 226. By directly on the onset layer 226,what is meant is that the first oxide magnetic layer 228 contacts theonset layer 226. Illustrative materials from which to form the firstand/or second oxide magnetic layers 228, 230 include CoCrPtX+oxide orO₂, where X may be B, Ta, Si, Ru, Ti, etc. and the oxide may be TiO_(x),SiO_(x), B₂O₃, W₂O₅, Ta₂O₅, etc.

An exchange coupling layer 232, a cap layer 234 e.g., of CoCrPtB, and anoptional overcoat 236 e.g. of carbon, are formed above the oxidemagnetic layers 228, 230. More detail about various layers is providedbelow.

To exemplify that various embodiments may have configurations other thanthose specifically shown, FIG. 3 illustrates an alternate embodiment,which except as otherwise described, has a similar structure to themedium 200 of FIG. 2, and therefore similar layers maintain commonnumbering. With reference to FIG. 3, a magnetic storage medium 300includes first and second underlayers 220, 222 separated by a Ru layer240 formed by low pressure sputtering.

An illustrative embodiment will now be described with reference to FIGS.2-4, though it should be kept in mind that a variety of differentstructures may be used. This approach has surprisingly been found torelax the requirements for specific Hc values for the cap layer 234, andeven allow use of high and low Ku oxide magnetic layers 228, 230,respectively. As shown, the first oxide magnetic layer 228 comprises ahigh Ku material such as CoCrPt-oxide or other material. An illustrativethickness of the first oxide magnetic layer 228 is between about 50 andabout 70 angstroms, where “about X” of a value means “X±10% of X”.However, as with any range given herein, the upper and lower valuescould be higher or lower in various other embodiments, particularlypreferred embodiments being within the stated ranges. The second oxidemagnetic layer 230 comprises a high Ku material such as CoCrPt-oxide orother material. The second oxide magnetic layer 230 may be formed bysputtering under high pressure (Hi_P) with oxygen being flowed into thesputtering chamber. An illustrative thickness of the second oxidemagnetic layer 230 is between about 20 and about 40 angstroms.

Referring to FIG. 4, the exchange coupling layer 232 includes a firstlayer (ECL-1) 250 of material formed on the second oxide magnetic layer230 and preferably of the same materials as the second oxide magneticlayer 230, though not necessarily in the same stoichiometricproportions. For example, the same sputtering target may be used to formboth layers 230, 250. Moreover, the first layer is preferably formedunder low pressure (Low_P) with no oxygen flowing into the sputteringchamber. Rather, the sputtering target includes the oxide. For example,the sputtering target may include one or more of TiO_(x), SiO_(x), B₂O₃,W₂O₅, Ta₂O₅, etc. Thus, where oxygen was flowed to form the second oxidemagnetic layer 230, the first layer 250 has an almost identicalcomposition except for a lower oxygen content than the second oxidemagnetic layer 230.

A second layer (ECL-2) 252 of the exchange coupling layer 232 is formedabove the first layer 250, the second layer 252 comprising a materialsuch as CoCrPtBTa-oxide, which is preferably formed by sputtering underlow pressure with oxygen flowing into the sputtering chamber, preferablyat a flow rate sufficient to generate an oxygen content in the secondlayer 252 of between about 1 and about 20 atomic percent.

An illustrative combined thickness of the first and second layers 250,252 is between about 10 and about 40 angstroms. The cap layer 234, e.g.,of CoCrPtB or other suitable magnetic material, is formed above theexchange coupling layer 232.

FIG. 5 depicts a graph 500 of MCW vs. cap layer thickness for a headhaving a 2.85 nm (combined thickness) high Ku first and second oxidemagnetic layers 228, 230 as shown in FIG. 4, and a comparative headhaving a high Ku second oxide magnetic layer and a low Ku second oxidemagnetic layer. FIG. 6 depicts a graph 600 of HC and Hs vs. cap layerthickness for the same heads. The cap layer in both cases was CoCrPtB,while the high Ku oxide magnetic layer in the preferred embodiment wasCoCtPt-oxide. As shown, the use of the high Ku oxide magnetic layersprovides a significant advantage over the approach using a low Ku secondoxide magnetic layer. For example, graded media is a one-dimensionalconcept. The graded media concept focuses on the vertical incoherentrotation within a single grain or vertical stack without regardinginteractions with neighboring grains. In conventional and gradedstructures, incoherent rotation is enhanced by thickening the cap.However, this introduces intergranular exchange both vertically &laterally. The vertical exchange is important to assist the reversal ofthe high Ku base layer, but the lateral exchange serves to broaden themagnetic core width, which is not desirable beyond a certain point.

With the high Ku oxide magnetic layer, an additional advantage lies withthe ability to vary or tune the degree of lateral vs. vertical exchangein two aspects, namely oxide magnetic layer thickness and degree ofoxidation. This concept serves to integrate the graded media conceptwith the real world complex issue of controlling or tuning theinteractions with nearest neighbor grains.

Modeling has also shown that the use of a thicker cap layer, now enabledby embodiments of the present invention, increase OW, increase SNR,where the improvement in SNR is greatest where an oxide exchangecoupling layer is used. This effect is exemplified in the table in FIG.7. Moreover, the SNR improvement is exhibited at a wide range ofexchange coupling layer thicknesses, as exemplified in the table of FIG.8. In FIGS. 7 and 8, the oxide 1 is CoCr₁₄Pt₁₈(B₂O₃)₃(Ta₂O₅)₁; the oxide2 and oxide 3 (ECL) is: CoCr₂₂Pt₁₆(B₂O₃)₃(Ta₂O₅)₁; and the cap is:CoCr₁₄Pt₁₈B₁₁. Also in FIGS. 7 and 8, several of the various parameterssuch as OW and Cap are described elsewhere herein. 2TSoNR is thespectral Signal-to-Noise ratio at a fixed signal measured at a fixedlinear density. For the 2TSoNR measurement, So is the low frequencysignal (So) [measured at ˜100 kfci (kiloflux changes per inch)] over theintegrated noise power at a frequency of T/2. Frequency T (or 1T) is thehighest linear frequency for a particular program. For example, if1T=1460 kfci, 2T indicates that the frequency is half of the 1Tfrequency (i.e., 2T=730 kfci), and 10T would be 1/10 of the 1T frequency(e.g., 10T=146 kfci). 2TSNR is the spectral Signal-to-Noise ratio of thesignal (S) (at a frequency T/2) over the integrated noise power at afrequency of T/2. It differs from the 2TSoNR only in that the signalused for the ratio is measured at the higher 2T frequency and not thelow frequency signal So. SoNR measurements provide a better sense of howthe noise alone increases with increasing frequency, whereas SNRmeasurements combines the signal rolloff (signal decreases withincreasing frequency) and the integrated noise increase with increasinglinear frequency. 10TMCW is the magnetic core width at frequency T/10.This is measured by writing a 10T pattern (low frequency pattern) on analternating current-(AC-)erased background, and then measuring signalamplitude as the head moves across the written track. The 10T MCW widthis determined as the full width between the points at which the signalamplitude has dropped by 50% from the maximum (usually in the center ofthe track).

In PMR media, the measured MCW changes as a function of linear frequencyfor a variety of reasons related to the writing process. The widest MCWis observed at the lowest frequency, and decreases with increasingfrequency. By measuring and comparing the 10TMCW widths, it can providea gauge of writability (narrow MCW indicates hard-to-write media or avery poor writing head), and also provides a gauge on how narrow tracksyou could write on that media with that head (indication of tracksqueeze behavior).

Another illustrative embodiment will now be described with reference toFIGS. 2, 3 and 9, though it should be kept in mind that a variety ofdifferent structures may be used. This approach uses a CoCrPt-oxidematerial as the exchange coupling layer 232 that is sputter-depositedwithout flowing oxygen into the sputtering chamber at low pressure suchthat the resulting exchange coupling layer 232 is positioned betweenCoPtCr-oxide magnetic layers 228, 230 and the magnetic cap layer 234. Byusing a CoCrPt-oxide exchange coupling layer, it has been surprisinglyand unexpectedly found that the media's OW, MCW, and SNR can besignificantly improved.

As shown, the first oxide magnetic layer 228 comprises a high Kumaterial such as CoCrPt-oxide or other material. The second oxidemagnetic layer 230 comprises a low Ku material such as CoCrPt-oxide orother material. Au illustrative combined thickness of the first andsecond oxide magnetic layers 228, 230 is between about 100 and about 150angstroms.

As alluded to above, the exchange coupling layer 232 issputter-deposited without flowing oxygen into the sputtering chamber,e.g., in a pure Ar gas, at low pressure. Here, the sputtering targetincludes the oxide. For example, the sputtering target may include oneor more oxide such as TiO₂, SiO₂, B₂O₃, W₂O₅, Ta₂O₅, NbO₂, CoO, Co₃O₄,etc.

The exchange coupling layer 232 preferably includes about 2 to about 20atomic percent of the oxide, and more preferably between about 4 andabout 14 atomic percent. In one embodiment, the exchange coupling layer232 comprises about 8 atomic percent oxide. The exchange coupling layer232 may be between about 10 and about 30 angstroms thick, morepreferably between about 10 and about 20 angstroms thick.

The cap layer 234, e.g., of CoCrPtB or other suitable magnetic material,is formed above the exchange coupling layer 232.

Without wishing to be bound by any theory, it surprisingly appears thatthe Hc characteristics of a CoCrPt-oxide exchange coupling layer mayprovide an advantage in narrowing the MCW. FIG. 10 is a graph 1000showing Hc as a function of exchange coupling layer thickness forexchange coupling layers made of CoCrPt, CoRu and CoCrPt-oxidematerials, respectively. As shown, the Hc remains fairly stable for theCoCrPt-oxide exchange coupling layer, while the Hc of the exchangecoupling layers of the other materials falls off rather quickly withincreasing thickness.

It also surprisingly appears that the saturation field (Hs) is aparameter which can be correlated to OW and MCW. The chart 1100 of FIG.11 shows the Hs as a function of exchange coupling layer thickness withdifferent materials. For CoRu and CoCrPt, when the exchange couplinglayer thickness becomes thick, the magnetic cap layer 234 is weaklycoupled to the oxide magnetic layers 228, 230, and therefore, provideless assistance in switching in the oxide magnetic layers 228, 230,resulting in an increase in Hs. However, CoCrPt-oxide does not show anyjump in Hs at higher thicknesses.

FIG. 12 is a chart 1200 showing the SNR as a function of exchangecoupling layer thickness with different materials. For CoRu and CoCrPtB,the media SNR slightly increase as exchange coupling layer thicknessincreases in the thin region; however, the SNR decreases at thickerexchange coupling layer levels due to high Hs which results in poor OW.For CoCrPt-oxide, the SNR can be maintained because there issurprisingly no increase of Hs at the thick exchange coupling layerregion.

FIG. 13 is a chart 1300 showing the MCW as a function of exchangecoupling layer thickness with different materials. For a fixed exchangecoupling layer thickness, such as a thickness of 10 Å on the plot shownin FIG. 13, a CoCrPt-oxide exchange coupling layer MCW is about 10 nmthinner than a CoRu exchange coupling layer MCW, and about 5 nm thinnerthan a CoCrPtB exchange coupling layer MCW.

FIG. 14 is a chart 1400 depicting OW as a function of exchange couplinglayer thickness with different materials. From FIG. 12, it is seen thatthe optimized exchange coupling layer thickness at maximum SNR is 6-8angstroms for CoRu, 5-13 angstroms for CoCrPtB, and greater than 10angstroms for CoCrPt-oxide. Note that although CoRu and CoCrPtB exchangecoupling layers have a 2 dB better overwrite better than CoCrPt-oxide atthe optimized thickness, this small difference can be compensated fromoptimizing the soft underlayer thickness and composition of the caplayer. The recording performance after optimizing the soft underlayer(CoFe₅₁Ta₁₀Zr₅) and composition of cap layer (CoPt₁₈Cr₁₅B₇) withdifferent exchange coupling layer materials is listed in Table 1, below.Table 1 includes TAA HF, which is the track average signal at highfrequencies, TAA LF, which is the track average signal at lowfrequencies, and SER, which is the soft error rate.

TABLE 1 ECL OW Res TAA HF TAA LF MCW SER SNR CoRu 26.1 36.3 6.1 16.8 84−3.48 16.5 CoCrPtB 26.4 36.1 6.1 16.9 84 −3.57 16.4 CoCrPt- 28.4 36.16.3 17.5 83 −3.93 16.7 oxide

Thus, embodiments presented herein are able to break through theaforementioned trilemina as well as improve OW, MCW and SNR/SER at thesame time, as shown for a medium using a CoCrPt-oxide exchange couplinglayer, when compared with a medium using a CoRu or CoCrPtB exchangecoupling layer, as shown in Table 1.

The selection of the proper exchange coupling layer parameters iscritical to achieve the desired performance improvement, according toone embodiment. The CoCrPt-oxide alloys should contain Pt in an amountgreater than O atomic percent to about 20 atomic percent, Cr in therange of about 20 atomic percent to about 40 atomic percent, and lessthan about 20 atomic percent of SiO_(x), Ta₂O₅, TiO₂, NbO₂, CoO, CO₃O₄,etc. Other elements such B, Cu, Ta, Ni, V, Mo, Ru, Ti, Mn and so on withconcentration of greater than 0 to about 10 atomic percent can be addedinto the alloys. The thickness of the exchange coupling layer is alsocritical to obtain the recording property improvement. The typicalthickness of the exchange coupling layer is in the range of about 10 toabout 30 angstroms.

While various embodiments have been described above, it should beunderstood that they have been presented by way of example only, and notlimitation. Thus, the breadth and scope of an embodiment of the presentinvention should not be limited by any of the above-described exemplaryembodiments, but should be defined only in accordance with the followingclaims and their equivalents.

What is claimed is:
 1. A method, comprising: forming a first oxidemagnetic layer above a substrate by sputtering; forming a second oxidemagnetic layer directly on the first oxide magnetic layer by sputtering,wherein oxygen is flowed during forming the second oxide magnetic layer;forming a first layer of an exchange coupling layer above the secondoxide magnetic layer, the first layer of the exchange coupling layercomprising an oxide, wherein no oxygen is flowed during forming thefirst layer of the exchange coupling layer; forming a second layer ofthe exchange coupling layer directly on the first layer of the exchangecoupling layer, the second layer of the exchange coupling layercomprising an oxide, wherein oxygen is flowed during forming the secondlayer of the exchange coupling layer, the second layer of the exchangecoupling layer having a different composition than the first layer ofthe exchange coupling layer; and forming a magnetic cap layer above theexchange coupling layer.
 2. The method as recited in claim 1, whereinthe first layer of the exchange coupling layer is formed of a samematerial as the second oxide magnetic layer, the first layer of theexchange coupling layer having a lower oxygen content than the secondoxide magnetic layer.
 3. The method as recited in claim 1, wherein asame sputtering target is used for forming the first layer of theexchange coupling layer and the second oxide magnetic layer, wherein thefirst layer of the exchange coupling layer has a lower oxygen contentthan the second oxide magnetic layer.
 4. The method as recited in claim1, wherein the second oxide magnetic layer is formed under a higherpressure than the first layer of the exchange coupling layer.
 5. Themethod as recited in claim 1, wherein at least one layer of the exchangecoupling layer is formed of CoCrPt-oxide.
 6. The method as recited inclaim 1, wherein the second layer of the exchange coupling layer has anoxygen content of between about 1 and about 20 atomic percent.
 7. Themethod as recited in claim 1, wherein the oxide in the exchange couplinglayer is selected from a group consisting of TiO₂, SiO₂, B₂O₃, W₂O₅,Ta₂O₅, NbO₂, CoO, and CO₃O₄.
 8. The method as recited in claim 1,wherein the second layer of the exchange coupling layer is formed of adifferent material than the first layer of the exchange coupling layer.9. A method, comprising: forming a first oxide magnetic layer above asubstrate by sputtering; forming a second oxide magnetic layer directlyon the first oxide magnetic layer by sputtering, wherein the secondoxide magnetic layer is characterized by a lower Ku than the Ku of thefirst oxide magnetic layer; forming an exchange coupling layer ofCoCrPt-oxide above the second oxide magnetic layer, wherein no oxygen isflowed during the forming of at least a portion of the exchange couplinglayer; and forming a magnetic cap layer above the exchange couplinglayer.
 10. The method as recited in claim 9, wherein no oxygen is flowedduring forming the exchange coupling layer.
 11. The method as recited inclaim 9, wherein the portion of the exchange coupling layer is formed bysputtering with no oxygen flowing into a sputtering chamber duringformation thereof and another portion of the exchange coupling layer isformed with oxygen flowing into the sputtering chamber.
 12. The methodas recited in claim 9, wherein the exchange coupling layer comprisesabout 2 to about 20 atomic percent of the oxide.
 13. The method asrecited in claim 9, wherein the oxide in the exchange coupling layer isselected from a group consisting of TiO₂, SiO₂, B₂O₃, W₂O₅, Ta₂O₅, NbO₂,CoO, and CO₃O₄.
 14. The method as recited in claim 9, wherein theexchange coupling layer includes at least one of B, Cu, Ta, Ni, V, Mo,Ru, Ti, and Mn in a concentration of greater than 0 to about 10 atomicpercent.
 15. The method as recited in claim 9, wherein a first portionof the exchange coupling layer adjacent the second oxide magnetic layeris formed of a same material as the second oxide magnetic layer, thefirst portion of the exchange coupling layer having a lower oxygencontent than the second oxide magnetic layer.
 16. The method as recitedin claim 15, wherein a second portion of the exchange coupling layer isformed of a different material than the first portion of the exchangecoupling layer.
 17. The method as recited in claim 9, wherein a secondportion of the exchange coupling layer is formed of a different materialthan the first portion of the exchange coupling layer.
 18. The method asrecited in claim 1, wherein both of the exchange coupling layers areformed of CoCrPt-oxide.
 19. The method as recited in claim 9, whereinthe entire exchange coupling layer is formed by sputtering with nooxygen flowing into a sputtering chamber during formation thereof. 20.The method as recited in claim 17, wherein the portion of the exchangecoupling layer has a lower oxygen content than the second portion of theexchange coupling layer.